Current Legal News

Stay current with legal news in Tennessee. This page features the latest news for and about the Tennessee legal community, either produced by the Tennessee Bar Association or collected from news sources.

The Tennessee Supreme Court ruled today that persons found in criminal contempt under the general contempt statute have not been convicted of a criminal offense and may not obtain post-conviction relief from such criminal contempt findings. In its opinion today, the court upheld the Court of Criminal Appeals decision, noting the distinction between a conviction of a criminal offense and a finding of criminal contempt under the general contempt statute. While both may result in a punishment of jail time, Tennessee law does not define contempt as a criminal offense, or equate a finding of criminal contempt with a conviction of a criminal offense. The opinion concerns the case Tracey Ross Baker v. State of Tennessee.

The legal sector added 2,700 jobs in August, the Wall Steet Journal law blog reports. According to U.S. Labor Department’s latest monthly report, that is the second highest single-month jump in the past year but still well below pre-recession employment levels. Overall, the sector added 6,300 jobs over the past year at an average monthly gain of 500 jobs.

Judge William E. (Bill) Higgins has been elected by his fellow judges as Presiding Judge over the Davidson County Sessions Court. The presiding judge is responsible for developing the rules for the conduct and administration of the courts as well as conducting meetings of all the judges to discuss problems or issues pertaining to court operation. He will also prepare and submit the budget of the Courts to the Metro Council. “I am honored to be elected”, he said in a press release. “I want to assure that we manage the courts to make sure that we remain accessible as “The Court of First Resort” to serve as the basic foundation for our community’s justice system.”

Representatives from all six Tennessee law schools gathered in Knoxville today with leaders from the access to justice community for the second Law School Pro Bono & Public Interest Conference, sponsored by the Tennessee Bar Association's Access to Justice Committee. About 40 people are taking part in the program, including Supreme Court Justices Janice Holder and Sharon Lee, Access to Justice Commission Chair Buck Lewis, Commission Vice-Chair Dean Doug Blaze, and representatives from Legal Aid Dave Yoder and Chay Sengkhounmany. They are engaging in conversations about the needs, opportunity, challenges and possibilities surrounding pro bono work and related access to justice issues. Lewis, a former TBA president, delivered the keynote address, highlighting the historic collaborations that have produced outstanding developments, while issuing the clear call to action that much work still remains. TBA President Cindy Wyrick will present to the group tomorrow morning.

An updated special edition of Gavel to Gavel again reviews the eight states now confirmed to have 2014 ballot items substantially affecting the courts. The publication notes that Tennessee’s case is interesting in that there is no back up system in place in case the quasi-federal system SJR 2 is rejected by voters and there is no longer merit selection in place.

"In my previous life, I was a used car salesman," law student Mike Sandler writes. "Now, I’m going to be a lawyer. Depending on whom you ask, I’m either improving my lot in life or taking a step backwards. Either way, I am embarking on a new chapter. Life is messy and law school is no exception." See this and other posts about what the Class of 2014 is up to this week at The Law Launch Project. Read about the venture involving 3Ls from all six of the state's law schools in the Tennessee Bar Journal.

The CPS Investigations Academy is a new joint venture between the Department of Children’s Services and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation intended to increase the level of instruction for child protective services workers. Taught by TBI agents and national child abuse investigation experts, the three-week program will graduate its first class in December. “In many cases, DCS makes the determination whether a crime has been committed,” said TBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge Margie Quinn, who oversees TBI investigations into sex trafficking. “But in some cases, you may not have a worker trained well enough to make that determination,” the Tennessean reports.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has added a provision to Rule 13 that will permit the Board of Professional Responsibility to deduct unpaid costs from attorneys’ entitlement to compensation for indigent defense. Under the new provision to the rule, effective Jan 1., the Administrative Office of the Court’s audit process for such fee claims will take into consideration any unpaid amounts due the BPR.

In a Question and Answer released by truck-stop chain Flying Pilot J, James A. Haslam II —- the founder of Pilot and father of current CEO Jimmy Haslam and Gov. Bill Haslam -— gives his first detailed remarks about the events surrounding the government raid of the Knoxville-based company. "It was the second worst day of my life," he said. "When Jimmy, Bill and Ann’s mother died that was obviously the worst day of my life, but this was a very difficult day for me as well." He added, "I’ve spent my life building this company with a pristine reputation of people doing the right thing, supporting our community, being a good corporate citizen, taking care of our customers and our team members, and I’m going to spend the rest of my life rebuilding that reputation." Knoxnews has more.

Kevin Kookogey announced today that he will not challenge Sen. Lamar Alexander for a Senate seat next August, scrapping three months of preparation for a campaign. According to the Tennessean, the former Williamson County Republican Party chairman hopes to avoid “infighting” among tea party activists, who already have one candidate running against the incumbent senator. “What became apparent to me was that there was going to be divided loyalties,” Kookogey said. “Both sides appeared to have their supporters, and it didn’t appear they were going to yield to each other.”

The West Tennessee Drug Task Force may be forced to close next year because fines designated to fund the task force are not being assessed or collected, the task force's former head says. Donny Blackwell, who retired as special agent in charge of the task force on Aug. 31, told the Jackson Sun that 28th Judicial District Circuit Court Judge Clayburn Peebles has declared drug offenders indigent and waived the fines that would fund the task force. Blackwell said other fees that cover court costs are rarely waived. “I have not seen many drug dealers over the years that had a legitimate job,” Blackwell said. “On paper they are indigent because they do not have a legitimate job. But I have seen these same indigent drug offenders make multiple bonds for thousands of dollars to get out of jail and then hire and pay a private attorney thousands of dollars to represent them.”

Federal prosecutors won't know until next spring if a massive whistle-blower Medicare fraud lawsuit against Life Care Centers of America can proceed to trial. The case was filed in 2008 and merged with a similar 2012 lawsuit, which involves allegations that the company provided unnecessary, often harmful, therapies to patients in its assisted living facilities to maximize Medicare billings. The Chattanooga Times Free Press has more about the case and the Cleveland, Tenn., based company.

The Obama Administration announced yesterday that it will stop enforcing a law that blocks benefits to partners of military veterans in same-sex marriage, the Times News reports. In a letter to congressional leaders, Attorney General Eric Holder said that a provision in federal law on benefits to veterans and their families defines "spouse" to mean a person of the opposite sex. He says that definition leaves out legally married same-sex couples, and runs afoul of the June Supreme Court ruling striking down the Defense of Marriage Act. "Decisions by the Executive not to enforce federal laws are appropriately rare," Holder told Congress. "Nevertheless, the unique circumstances presented here warrant non-enforcement."

Nobel-prize winning attorney Ronald Coase died Monday (Sept. 2) at the age of 102, the ABA Journal reports. The University of Chicago law professor and economist wrote the most-cited law review article of all time. In addition, the New Yorker's blog Rational Irrationality wrote that Coase “was transformed into an icon of the political right. His famous ‘Coase theorem’ was used to justify a hands-off approach to big business on the part of politicians, regulatory agencies, and judges, leaving pollution and other economic problems to the corrective powers of the free market.”

The Memphis-based law firm Martin, Tate, Morrow & Marston PC has opened an office in Lawrenceberg, its first foray into Middle Tennessee, the Memphis Business Journal reports. “For the past five years, the number of Martin Tate’s clients in the Middle Tennessee/Nashville area has increased substantially. We’re opening this office to make the law firm more accessible to them,” Lee Piovarcy, the new office’s resident partner, said in a news release.

Maria Alejandra Dalton is the third recipient of Waller law firm’s Diversity Endowed Scholarship at the University of Tennessee College of Law. Established in 2011, the $30,000 scholarship is the cornerstone of Waller’s efforts to support the law school’s diversity recruiting program and honors students whose lives have been guided by the examples of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Knoxnews has more.

Former TBA president and Knoxville attorney Pamela Reeves’ nomination to federal judgeship may be quicker than anyone expected, Metro Pulse reports. President Barack Obama’s nominees to the federal bench have been taking an average of 218 to 227 days to be confirmed, but the recent filibuster “fix” worked out between Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republicans has sped up the nomination process. Reeves, who was nominated in May, could be confirmed when the Senate returns from the Labor Day recess or shortly thereafter.

The Tennessee Supreme Court updated Rule 26 regulating the use of recording equipment in light of technological advances. The rule outlines procedures for recording trial court proceedings and includes provisions for designating the recording as the transcript under the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure. “The use of electronic recording has proven to be an exceptionally accurate and economical method of preserving the trial record and the response from litigants and lawyers in my courtroom has been universally positive,” said Davidson County Circuit Court Judge Thomas W. Brothers.

Martin Arnold Peebles Jr. died Saturday (Aug. 31). He was 71. Peebles was formerly a practicing attorney in Nashville. He was living in Franklin at the time of his death. The family will visit with friends Friday at 4 p.m. at Oaks & Nichols Funeral Home, with the memorial service immediately following at 6 p.m. Memorials may be made to the Tennessee Supreme Court Historical Society, in care of Joy Day, 341 Cool Springs Blvd., Suite 430, Franklin, TN 37067 or to the charity of one's choice.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg became the first justice to conduct a same-sex marriage ceremony Saturday, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog reports. Ginsburg officiated over the Washington, D.C., wedding of Kennedy Center President Michael M. Kaiser to John Roberts, an economist unrelated to Chief Justice John Roberts. “I think it will be one more statement that people who love each other and want to live together should be able to enjoy the blessings and the strife in the marriage relationship,” Justice Ginsburg told the Washington Post.